June 15th marks the opening of Utsikten – a place for co-creation and play 

ArkDes is currently closed for renovations, but this summer, Utsikten will open at the back of ArkDes – a secret garden that will develop and grow throughout the summer through children’s play, creativity, and collaboration. Utsikten will open on June 15th and will then be accessible 24/7 all day, every day of the week.

Utsikten is ArkDes’ new initiative for children. For several years, ArkDes has developed a method to elevate the creativity of children and young people through co-creation in architecture and design. Last year’s success, Bygg din lekplats, a pop-up play module at Utsikten and in Kungsträdgården, is followed up this year with a full playground, and children’s co-creation becomes a permanent feature on Skeppsholmen.

In 2024, Utsikten is designed by the collective MYCKET. This Stockholm-based art, architecture, and design group was founded in 2012 and is led by Mariana Alves Silva, Katarina Bonnevier, and Thérèse Kristiansson. MYCKET has drawn inspiration from mythology and the world of trolls.

“The mounting that ArkDes and Utsikten sit on is 1.7 billion years old. […] When we looked at the geological map of Skeppsholmen, we discovered that right here, where Utsikten is located, the bedrock resembled an ear. But not a human ear, more like the ear of a dog, a wolf, or perhaps a troll! So we have helped the troll by building an ear that peeks through the ground, with an earring that we think the troll would like.” – MYCKET

The aesthetics of trolls are also visible in the choice of materials and construction. The giant troll ear and the earring, shaped like a snake biting its own tail, are made from natural materials such as branches trimmed from trees on Skeppsholmen, clay, and climbing plants. The basic structure is built from metal scrap from previous ArkDes exhibitions that would otherwise have been discarded. Seeing the useful in the broken and making treasures from scrap is what MYCKET calls having “troll vision.” Troll vision is a driving force in MYCKET’s design, where the available materials partly shape the form, and the design also devolves during the work process.

Utsikten is a place created not just for children, but also with them. This has been important throughout the process. During three sessions in April and May, an after-school group from Filosofiska grundskolan in Skarpnäck came to Skeppsholmen to help MYCKET build and develop the secret garden at Utsikten. They discussed and planned, wove branches, shovelled soil, and applied clay.

“The children’s work and input have been invaluable. They are experts at being children and clearly show what works and what is fun, boring, or unclear.” – Sara Sandell, project manager at ArkDes.

In addition to building the playground, the children have brainstormed and, through play, come up with new ideas for how Utsikten can grow and what can be further developed by other children. For Utsikten is not finished by the summer; it is just beginning. Everyone is welcome to continue building on Utsikten and create treasures from scrap and imagination during the summer workshops and free play.
Utsikten opens to the public on June 15th and is then open 24/7, every day of the week. ArkDes offers free workshops for families and after-school groups throughout the summer holidays.

Read more about the opening on June 15th and all the summer programmes at Utsikten here.